Do you let potential buyers hunt? When do you ask for a contract?

[system]

Quick background: for many and various reasons, I’ve long thought my horse would be happier as a foxhunter than in his current job. I had the opportunity last week to take him out hunting for the first time, and he was a total star. Loved it, and behaved himself beautifully. I know common wisdom says you don’t really know how they’ll be as a foxhunter until after at least three hunts – the potential buyers are 100% informed about his experience level, and were able to watch him at that first hunt. They have ridden him in the ring and hacked him out in small company.

Two things I’m wondering:

1. Do you require a signed contract and/or deposit before allowing a horse off your property for a pre-purchase exam? I would probably be unable to attend the exam, so buyer would be picking him up and trailering him to the vet unsupervised. (I do trust this person by reputation, but accidents happen!)

2. Would you allow a potential buyer to hunt your prospect before making their decision? I want my horse to be ecstatic about his new job and the buyers to adore him as much as I do, and I have no reason to think he’ll behave any differently on his second hunt – but I am a little nervous about letting him hunt without me there. It would be difficult for me to take time off work to hunt again. Am I worrying needlessly? Would you let a buyer hunt your horse? Would you require a contract and/or deposit beforehand?

I guess mostly I’m wondering how you structure your selling process. Thanks in advance!

[Benson]

Last Hunt season we purchased horse. We took the horse on trial with the owner knowing he would be out Hunting at least once. We signed a contract that said we would bring the horse back in the condition it left the barn and we paid the full purchase price of the horse before we took it on trial. I am risk averse, but the low purchase price made this arrangement relatively low risk.

It worked very well and we purchased the horse.

I wonder if there is some sort of one day insurance you could buy to cover the value of the horse, should anything happen while someone else is hunting him.

[Beverley]

In one case, I bought a horse, being 99.5% sure that he’d work just fine for me out hunting, but with the understanding that if he didn’t, I could return him and get the money back.

In another case, I took a horse on trial to my property for a week or so, a trusting total stranger was the seller- hunted him and loved him but alas, he flunked the vet inspection. No money had as yet changed hands. As it happens, the seller decided given his medical outlook, not to sell him but to pasture him when the time came as he had served her well. She went so far as to reimburse me for the pre-purchase x-rays so she could follow up on his veterinary needs.

However. I’ve seen people take lovely horses on trial- even just a day trip- and manage to get them injured or rattled for jumping. So, if I didn’t know and trust the buyer, I would probably:

1. Go hunting with prospective buyer, haul horse to meet myself, have prospective buyer pay $100 for all that, to be deducted from the purchase price if the sale goes through- otherwise they have paid a reasonable fee for renting the horse for the day of hunting.

2. NOT let a horse go on trial UNLESS prospective buyer takes out short term insurance- medical, mortality, and loss of use- naming me as beneficiary.

[Painted_Wings]

I only let them hunt unsupervised if I know the buyer very well. Generally I will take another one of my horses out with them. I don’t charge to haul or anthing as I figure I would be hunting anyway.

If they wanted a more serious tryout off the farm I would definitely have a sales contract with full amount to be returned if horse fails vet.